Silicon Valley Sweetheart (9 page)

I
’d been
anxious all week waiting for Amanda and Emily to get into town. Mark and I picked them up at the airport. I was excited that they were going to be in town for our engagement party.

“Are you hungry? Do you want to go get something to eat?” he asked them.

“Yes, we’re starved,” Amanda said.

We went to a restaurant not far from the airport. As we had dinner, we all talked and laughed. It was then that I realized how much I missed Amanda and Emily. I wished they could be here to spend time with me more often.

I liked how well Mark and my friends got along. I imagined a future with me and Mark socializing with Emily and Amanda and their boyfriends. I knew this whole arrangement with Mark was all going to end some day. But I wanted to have a bit of hope. Maybe, Mark will see that I’m not interested in him just for his money. Maybe he’ll figure out that he loves me as much as I love him.

After a great dinner, Mark dropped the three of us off at my apartment.

We went inside and plopped ourselves down on the couch. I grabbed a pint of ice cream and I opened a bottle of wine. And then another bottle. And one more after that. We laughed and talked like best friends do until nearly 4 AM.

T
he beep
from my phone woke me up. I picked it up to see that Mark had sent me a text message.

Any plans for today?

I responded back:

Taking Amanda and Emily shopping. I need a dress for our engagement party

I had barely blinked before his response came through:

I’ll call Melody over at Neiman Marcus. Have her put whatever you want on my account.

For someone who was worried he looked like a big ATM machine to women, he sure loved to spend money on me at every opportunity.

Thanks, anyway. I have money since we just got paid.

“I insist,”
was his response.

I didn’t bother responding to his text. I wasn’t going to argue with him about this. I would just pay for my dress myself.

We walked into Neiman Marcus. Melody was expecting us. She walked us to a dressing room and said, “I’ve pulled out dresses for all three of you. That’s what Mark told me he wanted.”

Amanda and Emily’s eyes lighted up. “For all three of us?” they said with glee in unison.

I was a little surprised at Mark’s generosity, but most of the time, Mark surprises me.

“How did you know which sizes for Amanda and Emily?” I asked.

“When Mark called me, he described them both to a T. I’m pretty sure the sizes I pulled are pretty close. If not, we can try something else.”

Emily whispered in my ear, “Is he really going to buy us dresses, too?”

I shook my head and smiled. It was just so Mark.

“Don’t you think this party is a little much?” Amanda asked.

“It’s Mark’s father. He wants to show off his son’s engagement. We’re just going along with it.”

“Does Mark have any cute, rich friends coming to the party?” Emily asked.

“I’m not completely sure who is coming. Whatever you do, avoid his stepmother Brenda.”

“Why?” Emily asked.

“Let’s just say she’s not very nice. I wouldn’t trust her as far as I could throw her.”

Just then, Melody walked in the dressing room. “I have very specific orders from Mark. He says that if I allow any of you ladies to pay for your own dress, he will never shop with me again. Not sure you’re aware of this or not, but Mark is one of my best customers. So, please, let him buy you these dresses.”

The dresses Melody had selected for us were beautiful. I tried on a pink lace one. I walked out into the center area to show Amanda and Emily the dress. Turning around to show them the whole dress, I looked at them, anxiously awaiting their opinion.

“It’s beautiful!” said Emily.

“It’s perfect for you,” Amanda he chimed in.

I took a selfie and texted it to Mark.
What do you think of this one?

The phone beeped within seconds.

I prefer you without a dress… But I love that one for our engagement party!

I texted back:

Are you coming over tonight?

Even though I had company, I was hoping I could spend some time with him.

No, spend time with your friends :-)

***

We hired a limo to drive me, Amanda, and Emily to the city. I didn’t think it was a good idea to drink and drive. Plus, I was still learning my way around the city.

There were a couple of clubs I wanted to take Amanda and Emily to. It was great having them here with me. How I missed going out to clubs with them like we used to in New York.

We got to the first club on my list. It was a bar on the waterfront.

“Let’s take a picture with the Bay Bridge in the background,” squealed Amanda.

Amanda had brought one of those sticks that you can attach your cell phone to. As we were posing in front of the camera, three guys we didn’t know came up and jumped into the picture. Amanda snapped a few pictures of us.

After we were done taking photos, the guys asked if they could buy us a drink. Amanda and Emily looked at me. “You two can. I’d better not. My fiancee probably wouldn’t like it too much,” I said, showing them my engagement ring.

After they had walked away, Emily asked, “What’s wrong with letting a couple nice looking men buy us a drink?”

“Mark and I have agreed not to see anyone else during our engagement. I don’t want to break his trust.”

Amanda rolled her eyes. “It’s not like you’re really going to marry the guy...”

Maybe we weren’t ever going to really get married. Just thinking about it caused my heart to ache. I was in love with Mark Woodham. If only there was a way for me to find out whether he was in love with me...

“Come on,” I said. “Let’s head to our next destination.

I called the limo and a few minutes later, it pulled up in front of the club to take us to the next bar I had on my list. We could hear the music blaring as soon as we opened the limo door.

The nightclub was crowded. The music reminded me the club we went to my last night in New York. When our favorite song came on, we made our way to the dance floor. It wasn’t long before a few cute guys came over and started dancing with us. After the song ended, they followed us over to the bar and ordered us a drink.

We only stuck around a little while after that. Emily and Amanda were exhausted due to the time change. We headed home.

I made up the sofa-bed couch for Amanda and Emily. I was tired, too. After making sure they were set, I headed into my room. I put on my nightshirt and I think I fell asleep before my head hit the pillow.

I
awoke
to a loud pounding on the door. Slowly, I got out of bed and put on my robe. I looked in the mirror and brushed my hair before heading to the door.
Who could be here this early?

I opened the door. It was Mark.

“Good morning. What are you doing here so early?”

“Why didn’t you answer my texts?” he fumed, pushing his way inside.

Amanda and Emily were still asleep on the couch. I dragged him into my room to keep from waking them.

“What texts?” I asked.

“The ones I sent you last night,” he scathed.

I picked up my phone and saw that he’d sent me a few texts. For some reason, I hadn’t checked my phone earlier.

“Oh. Sorry. I didn’t notice you had sent any texts. We went to a couple of clubs last night. That’s all.”

“That wasn’t my question!” He shouted. “I asked you why didn’t you answer my texts? When I text you, I expect you to respond!”

“Amanda and Emily are still sleeping. Please keep your voice down,” I said, trying to get him to be quieter.

“I’m sure they are. God only knows how much alcohol the three of you consumed last night. Who is that guy you were with last night? We had an agreement.”

“What guy? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Mark pulled out his phone and showed me a picture of me and a guy on the dance floor.

“Amanda posted this on Instagram last night,” Mark said, pushing his phone in front of me.

I had no idea she had posted that picture.

“I have no idea who that guy is. He’s just someone who jumped into the shot while Amanda was taking our picture. I don’t even know his name and I most certainly didn’t go home with him last night.”

“Wasn’t it you who said that you don’t get involved with strange men you meet in nightclubs? Or is the problem that you just think I’m strange!”

“Mark, I’m not like any of your stepmothers. You’re so afraid that you will never be able to trust a woman that you won’t give your heart to anyone.”

Anger filled Mark’s face.

“What about you, Shirin?” His eyes narrowed. “You’re the one who is the expert at hiding her feelings. You are so smart, and yet, look at you. You’d rather hide behind how sexy you are so no one can see how intelligent and capable you really are.”

I knew that what I said had upset him. But still, he had upset me, too.

“Let’s look at how smart I really am. If I’m really so smart, what on earth would have let me think that we could really do this with no strings attached? How would it feel if you had fallen in love with someone who only wanted you for what he would get out of it?”

He just stared at me in disbelief.

I wanted him to see that I was more to him than just a meal ticket to Daddy’s business. It hurt knowing that I had confessed my feelings to him—feelings I knew he would never share with me.

“Mark, I didn’t do anything with that guy. What do I have to do to prove that to you?”

“I’m sorry. It just drove me crazy seeing you with another man. And then you didn’t answer my text. I didn’t know if you were with this guy… injured in a hospital somewhere… You could have been dead for all I knew...”

“I don’t want to argue with you. Let’s just be civil until the end of our arrangement.”

“Fine. I’ll pick you and the girls up at 6 PM for the engagement party.”

Mark stormed out the door.

I couldn’t look him in the eye. My heart ached. As soon as he walked out the door, tears started flowing down my face.

“What’s wrong?” Emily asked grabbing my arm.

“What have I done?” I said, putting my face in my hands. “I swore I wasn't going to fall in love with him. How can I not be falling in love with him when every time I see him, my body yearns for him?”

Emily walked over and hugged me. “You were doing it for the right reasons. You just didn’t expect to fall for him.”

Amanda pulled up a chair and sat down next to me. “Listen, we understand why you did this. Mark has a lot of issues of his own that he’s going to have to work out. But don’t worry. We’ll be here for you. In the meantime, focus on your studies. That’s your most important priority. It’s what you’ve been planning your whole entire life.”

I knew they were right. Mark did have issues. And, school was my most important priority. But, in a few days, they would be back in New York, and I would still be here, alone.

M
ark came
by to pick the three of us up for the engagement party. When he knocked on the door, he acted as though nothing had happened earlier. It was like we had never had an argument this morning.

“You look very nice,” Mark said.

I was a bundle of nerves. After our fight this morning, I wasn’t sure if I was ready to see him. I gave him a fake smile, “Thank you. You look very nice, yourself.”

“Here. I have something for you.” He pulled a gift bag out of his suit jacket and handed it to me. “I’m sorry I was such a jerk earlier.”

Inside the bag, there was a bright turquoise Tiffany’s box. I opened the box to find a sterling silver charm bracelet with a butterfly charm.

“Here, let me put it on for you. Remember the butterflies at the Conservatory of Flowers? The butterfly is a sign of transformation. It goes through a painful process and ends up being something magically beautiful. Just like you.”

A smart woman would have walked as far away from Mark as she could. But when I looked in his eyes, all I could see was the love of a man who needed me. As hard as I tried to push down the feelings I was having for him, I knew there was no way I could suppress them.

“Apology accepted,” I said. “Will you put it on for me?”

He pulled the charm bracelet out of the box. He put it on me and softly kissed me on the cheek. We got into the car to go to our engagement party.

W
hen we got
to Fred and Brenda’s house, there were tons of very expensive cars out front. I started to feel nervous. I didn’t realize they had planned such an extravagant event.

Fred greeted us at the door. I didn’t see Brenda. I knew she had to be here somewhere.

The house was decorated for our engagement party. Flowers were placed throughout the house and soft music played in the background. I noticed several waiters in black tuxedos offering passed hors d’oeuvres to the guests.

“Come, let me introduce you to some of our close friends and clients,” Fred said, grabbing my arm. He introduced me to one person after another. I had no idea how I would be able to remember all of their names.

He brought me over to Wayne Fryer, the CEO of NTL Industries. Fred said, “Wayne I’d like for you to meet Shirin. She’s currently studying at Stanford, but let me tell you, she’s going to be the next brains of our operation. You’ll be hearing good things about her.”

Wayne turned to me and smiled. Shaking my hand, he said, “Yes, I’ve already heard great things about you. I understand you’re the one who was able to fix a major problem for us.”

I felt myself blush a little. A little embarrassed, I said, “I’m happy I could help.”

Brenda came rushing up to me. “Oh, honey, I’ve got to show you something! I’ve found the perfect wedding dress for you. I have to show it to you now!” I was a little taken aback. She did genuinely seem interested in showing me a dress.

She dragged me to the office off the main hallway.

“It’s a one-of-a-kind designer dress and I’m sure it’s your size. I’m positive you’re going to love it.”

She went over to her computer and couldn’t get it to turn on.

“My computer is acting really funny. They keep telling me computers are getting faster and more reliable. I have nothing but problems with them. Do you have your iPad with you? Can I show it to you on that?”

“Um, yeah. It’s in my purse over here.” I pulled out my iPad, turned it on and handed it to her after unlocking it. Brenda clumsily pressed the sleep button at the top. Clearly, she didn’t have much experience with tablets. Must be because it didn’t involve spending money.

“Let me do it,” I said, taking the iPad back. I reentered the password. “What’s the website?”

She gave me the address. When it came up, she pointed to the designer she wanted to show me. “There. Go to that one.”

I clicked on the designer’s name and the most beautiful bridal dress I’d ever seen came up. It was gorgeous. It was white silk trimmed with satin and tulle. I loved the small cap sleeves and empire waist. The beading was exquisite.

“That is lovely,” I said, turning to Brenda.

She could tell I loved the dress. “Oh good,” she squealed, jumping up and down. “I just knew you would love it! And it’s in your size, right?”

I looked down at the iPad. The dress was in my size.

“Say the word and I’ll get Mark to order for you tonight! I’m sure you can get it altered if it doesn’t fit perfectly.”

“Let me think about it. I don’t want to rush into making a decision,” I said, trying to stall.

“Don’t take too long. It’s one-of-a-kind. If you don’t take it, someone else will.”

“I know. I’ll make a decision soon.” If I really was getting married, it would have been the perfect dress.

Fred came in to tell us dinner was about to be served. He directed me to our table. The waiters began serving everyone filet mignon with jumbo prawns on top. It was delicious. Brenda must have spent a fortune on the catering. Fred motioned for the headwaiter to come over and directed him to make sure everyone had a drink for the toast he was about to give.

“May I have your attention, please,” Fred announced, clanging his butter knife on his glass. Fred waited for the room to quiet down.

“Brenda and I would like to make a toast to my son, Mark and his future bride, Shirin. We are so happy that Mark has found the love of his life. And, we couldn’t ask for anything more in a future daughter-in-law than Shirin. She’s not just another pretty face, she smart, too.”

The crowd laughed a little at that. Fred smiled and continued.

“I believe Mark has made the right choice for both his life partner and the future of our business.” Raising his glass, he said, “To Mark and Shirin—may your life together be filled with joy, happiness, and eternal love.”

Everyone held up their glasses to toast us and clapped.

My stomach suddenly felt queasy. Here was Fred so happy, so sincere, and yet, none of this was real. Even Brenda seemed to have had a change of heart. I’m sure she spent a fair amount of time looking for that dress for me. It was a beautiful dress, too. If I let her, I bet she would be ecstatic to plan the whole wedding.

I clanged my glass to get everyone's attention.

“I’d like to make a toast, too. Several years ago, I emigrated to this country without my family. My father said he was too old to come and sent me to stay with my uncle so I would have the best opportunities for my life.” Swallowing deeply to keep a lump from forming in my throat, it was hard to hold back the tears stinging my eyes. I didn’t expect to get this worked up.

Mark looked over at me and gave me a reassuring smile.

“I wish my father could be here with us now. But, since I know that’s not possible, I can only share with you how happy he would be if he were here.

“I’m happy to be joining your family. Mark, without you, I would not be living my dream. Brenda, I look forward to spending time with you and getting to know you better. And Fred, the way you have accepted me into your family means more to me than you will ever know.”

I could see Fred glow with pride. “Fred, since my father cannot be here, I would be honored if you would walk me down the aisle.”

Fred put his arm around me and nodded. He pressed his wine glass to mine making a clinking sound, raised his glass to the crowd, and had a sip of his wine. Once again, the crowd toasted us and clapped.

We continued to mingle with the guests after dinner. It was almost 11 o’clock when the last guest left.

“Let me help you clean up before we leave,” I said to Brenda.

“Oh, honey, that’s what I hire help for. They’ll take care of all of this.”

Mark put his arm around my shoulder and suggested we leave. He dropped the three of us off at my apartment.

Walking me to my door, he said, “You were wonderful tonight. Thank you.”

I kissed his cheek at the door and said good night.